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Category: HeroClix

At a mere 51 points, Maria Hill is FAR too inexpensive to rate as a good general Leadership piece in the modern game. But her Special Power makes her great for SHIELD generics: she grants +AV to adjacent allies with the keyword. Combined with the Willpower she gets via the same SP, she benefits fellow SHIELD mooks greatly. Moreover, since SHIELD team tend to be composed of swarms of low-cost characters, the extra actions of Leadership are much needed.

Because she’s a great piece for the power on the SHIELD teams she’s most likely to appear on, Cobie Smulders Maria Hill is Heroclixin’s #10 top Leadership piece.

Next is a bad guy:

#9

Moloch The Mystic (Watchmen 018)

At first glance he looks just like a mere Mind Control piece with zero defenses besides Shape Change, but he’s got a great form of Leadership that grants the user of the extra action Willpower. That character could be himself. You just have to be sure to declare which of your actions of the turn is going to be the extra one.

His long 10 range enables him to stay out of the main fray better than many, and his Underworld TA means he’s likely to carry or be carried by fellow Underworlders. His 79 points puts him a sweet spot, points-wise, to be a great boon to the teams he’ll show on. He’s Heroclixin’s #9 top Leader.

#8 (tie)

Capwolf (Captain America 061)

Superman (DC 75th Anniversary 050)

Both sport special Leadership that allow, on a 6 roll, the ability to remove a token from himself instead of a cheaper pal. Capwolf’s is a little better still, as it’s a trait instead of a first-half-of-dial SP and he can opt to drop the token off any adjacent Animal instead of himself. He’s also 100 points to Supes’ 120, with better AV, a full dial of BCF and Super Senses and nearly as much Battle Fury. But Superman is better in a fight, with a full dial of Toughness, JSA TA to help his or allies’ DV, perma-Leap/Climb, the ability to be carried and Indomitable. He’s also a slightly better general leader.

Both tie as the 8th-best Leadership figs.

Back to SHIELD for the next:

#7

Steve Rogers (Captain America 031)

A Leadership trait and solid 99 cost would seem to put Rogers even higher on the tops list. And when you consider that he outright grants his adjacent Avengers- and SHIELD-keyworded pals the SHIELD or Avengers TAs, respectively, his Leadership is almost incidental to his utility on the team. Add to that his high AV as well. His weakness is a total lack of armor, making him a tempting target for KO. But Rogers is still the #7 best Leader by Heroclixin’s standard.

I had another Top Ten idea I was preparing for this week, but it occurred to me that with America voting in the next leaders of the free world tomorrow, Heroclixin’ ought to list the Top Ten best Leadership pieces in the game.

What qualifies one to be a great leader?

The right point cost. It can’t be too low, because you want to be able to remove tokens from cheaper teammates upon successful rolls. But a leader too costly could crowd out the build total, leaving you with no other characters to use the extra actions granted by Leadership.

The ability to stay adjacent to allies with minimal effort. Your leader needs to always be in position to remove tokens from less-costly allies with the 5-6 roll. That means being a taxi or being taxiable.

Using that adjacency for something other than Leadership. It only works a third of the time, so the Leader really ought to have something else to benefit — or benefit from — adjacent allies.

Starting Leadership. Pushing to get to the power is useless. But…

No more attractive power on click #2. Nightwing (Crisis 029) is a prime negative example: though he begins with Leadership, unless a player is either using one of the feats associated with it (Inspiring Command, Contingency Plan) or married to leveraging his top-dial Incapacitate, Nightwing’s nearly always going to get pushed to click #2 for his Perplex. A better leader will not require feats and will get some actual mileage from the power.

Finally, the leader should have followers to benefit from the Leadership. Does she have any teammates that are a natural fit for her style (via team abilities, keywords or whatever)? This is taken into account.

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OK. Those are the ground rules. Starting tomorrow, see what Heroclixin’ voted as the 10th, 9th and maybe 8th best Leadership figures in the game!

Even by the standards of this earliest HeroClix set, the loaded-down-with-the-too-expensive-Incapacitate-power Hobby we saw in these sets was a worthless pile of garbage that didn’t come close to representing one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes.

Any new Hobgoblin dial ought to resemble the latest Green Goblin we got (Web of Spider-Man 058) — heck, a sculpt mod and repaint would be welcome! — with a trait reflecting original Hobgoblin Roderick Kingsley’s penchant for dumping off ringers dressed in spare Hobgoblin suits to evade capture and preserve his secret identity. Something like this:

“HOBGOBLIN UNMASKED…? At the beginning of the game, secretly choose a character with a lower point value than Hobgoblin (but more than half his value) and write its name on a piece of paper. Once per game, when Hobgoblin would be KO’d, if the chosen character is within 6 squares of Hobgoblin, reveal it, KO it instead and place Hobgoblin on his last non-KO click in the square it occupied. Hobgoblin can immediately use Regeneration as a free action.”

It’s been 10 years, WizKids. Time to do justice to this worker of INjustice. It’s one of Heroclixin’s most-needed remakes — so readers, feel free to replace the choice you disagreed with most with this one.

Finally, the top two figures that need a remake. These make people say: “Did you even read the actual comic?”

Lady Shiva

She’s the DCU’s premier martial artist, second to none. But when she was made way back in the second DC set, Cosmic Justice, she only rated a 9 Attack Value that sank to eights, sevens and even an unthinkable 6 AV.

Second to none? Maybe second to the worst.

If the character existed in the real world, the quite amoral Lady Shiva would probably kill the designer with a heart-stopping death palm just to make a statement.

Redesigning Shiva shouldn’t be hard. It’d be as simple as taking the best non-superpowered martial artist HeroClix figure in the game, giving her the same abilities and then juicing up the stats some. Think GG Gamora, but a little less super.

But there ought to be some aspect of Shiva’s “alpha-predator-of-the-martial-arts” ferocity in there, somehow. Perhaps a trait that A) forces -1 AV to all non-Martial Artist foes against her and B) forces her to attack or attempt to base the highest-point Martial Artist on the other team and scores extra points if she KOs it.

In any case, fixing Lady Shiva would correct the second greatest miss in HeroClix design history, making her Heroclixin’s #2 most needed remake.

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The #1 FAIL, though?

Marvel Boy The Uranian

This Agent of Atlas, as seen in Hammer of Thor, is as poorly made a figure as we’ve ever seen in HeroClix:

The name’s wrong. The character had stopped calling himself “Marvel Boy” decades ago. He goes by the code “The Uranian” now, in homage to his adopted homeworld of Uranus (…it’s a long story).

The powers are wrong. As Marvel Boy, he was kinda your basic flying brick via his energy- and gravity-manipulating wristbands. The HeroClix figure doesn’t reflect much of that at all. As The Uranian, he’s more of a psychic, with telepathic powers and strong illusion-casting abilities. The HeroClix figure doesn’t reflect much of that at all, either.

Uranian’s other chief contribution to the team is his mentally controlled spaceship that serves as their transport. If only there were a way to symbolize that in HeroClix.

Oh, there is, you say?

“LEAPFROG: Chase Stein can use Leap/Climb. Chase Stein can use the Carry ability to carry up to eight friendly characters that must have the Kid, Runaways, or Teen keyword. Chase Stein can carry friendly characters with the Runaways keyword regardless of their attack and speed symbols. Chase Stein’s speed value is not modified by the Carry ability.”

Wow. And it was in the VERY SAME SET. Instead, Marvel Boy got a horribad SP that does nothing but bloat his cost to an unusable 102 points of ineffectiveness — especially with his 9 and 8 AVs:

“TELEPATHIC PROJECTION: Marvel Boy can use Mind Control. After a successful attack by Marvel Boy using Mind Control, he can use Incapacitate as a free action targeting the same character.”

Really. Every other member of the team is a decent piece. How did this solitary one go so incredibly wrong in every way?

A proper Uranian would have some frontloaded Outwit or Perplex (or both), the ability to carry multiples of his Atlas teammates a la Chase Stein’s power above (complete with some damage reducers for the ship’s hull and Ranged Combat Expert for his ship’s big gun, the Meteor Smasher) and, of course, a more proper sculpt, as seen near the end of My Custom Mods series. In the comics, he’s very much the linchpin of the team as the backfield support figure.

For just plain comic accuracy AND game playability, Marvel Boy / The Uranian is Heroclixin’s number one needed remake.

Once a surprise hit of a team, the Young Avengers are rather thinned out these days, and Patriot’s actually left the team. He and his crew are a decent cautionary tale in HeroClix for “too much, too soon.” We got them too early in both their careers and in the Special Powers era of ‘Clix. The quintet introduced in 2007’s Avengers set are all underpowered and barely playable:

Giant-girl Stature is both in the wrong costume and lacks even the basic giant-size brick powers of damage reduction (ANY!) and her AV is possibly the worst overall in the game for 50 points. She does have some use as a giant taxi and Plasticity-boosted tie-up, and her dial is long.

Iron Lad is a design fail, too. While his AV is appropriately low, he ought to have much better damage numbers. That said, Invulnerability + Shape Change is a decent defense.

Hulking is a hulking mass of powers wasted on horrid combat values. But the Invulnerability + Shape Change is even better on him, allowing him to soak a lot of attacks, and he can deal a lot of damage.

His BF Wiccan is the useful one — Enhancement super-taxi that pushes to Prob Control (and how they need it) and Support) — but like his mom Scarlet Witch, he’s underpowered.

It’s their leader Patriot who’s the most in need of a redo, though. His dial is a hot mess like the others’ but, as I’ve recounted above, each of them still brings a strength to the team.

Patriot?

He starts with Battle Fury, representing his short-lived addiction to the Mutant Growth Hormone drug to give himself powers. But the enhanced battle ability is nowhere apparent in the 8 Attack. Moreover, Energy Shield/Deflection on a 15 DV for a character with no range is unfortunate. He can’t even be carried to serve as a meatshield by any of the taxis. He has a single solid click in #2, with improved stats across the board — well, except for damage slipping from 3 to 2. The Leadership he gets is wasted on a team full of free-moving Avengers who also all cost more than him. His DV slides from a good 17 Toughness to a crap 15 and lower to 12 Combat Reflexes…blech.

So, to recap: he’s poor at tie-up. No range. Can’t be carried. Leadership too low. Short-lived with poor DV. Good at nothing, really.

By the end of the initial Young Avengers series, he’s gotten a transfusion of the Super Soldier Serum from his grandfather (Captain America (Secret Invasion 019)) and he’s a much more capable hero.

In fact, a dial a lot like his grandpa’s would be ideal. Toughness from the shield, Charge and Flurry for the fighting skill (the long run of 9 AV being solid, too), some Willpower later with the DV to make it work, and, most of all, some Leadership up front — perhaps a SP version that works better with Young Avengers, to make them the force they can be, and finish the job that Secret Invasion’s Hawkeye started (and to build on what upcoming member Speed in Chaos War may bring to the team).

Bettering the Young Avengers. It’s a worthy goal and is why Patriot is Heroclixin’s #4 Needed Remake.

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Flash’s Rogue’s Gallery just got a nifty anti-Hypersonic Speed ATA to show their ability to consistently challenge the Scarlet Speedster. But their dials could use some upgrading as well. And although the number one worst-dialed Rogue has got to be Weather Wizard, in Heroclixin’s opinion he must stand a close second in line for a redo behind the Rogues’ leader:

Captain Cold

I mean, Weather Wiz is a bit of a terror in the comics, and none of the others are pushovers, either. Yet all of them hold a healthy respect for Captain Cold, and it’s time he got a dial that shows why he’s the unquestioned, if unofficial, leader of the Rogues.

Leadership is a must. A boosted version for Rogues would be key.

He’s got to have the usual ice powers — Incapacitate, Barrier — but they need to be juiced somehow, or made cheaper. There are plenty of example Special Powers that could be lifted and applied to Mr. Snart here (such as Icicle (Justice League)’s “Copsicles” SP). If WizKids would just go ahead and make Incap worth its points by using my suggestion — that an Incapped character can’t make free actions — it’d be fine. But since they haven’t, maybe Cold should get the first shot at the Incap upgrade. Running Shot is also a must — and it’d be neat if he could use Barrier instead of shooting with it.

A representation of his “cold field,” a subtle use of his freeze gun that slows molecular movement (including the Flash’s super speed) that could make him a silver bullet to moving attack powers similar to Star Boy or Harry Leland. But it should to be connected to an action instead of being a passive power.

Finally, he needs excellent combat values. As he’s said, he’s a fellow who tangles with a guy who moves close to the speed of light. Normal-reflexed characters shouldn’t stand much of a chance.

He doesn’t play too well with non-Rogues, so it’s the only keyword he’d need. And no team symbol would save points for all the costly powers he needs to hover around 100 points. A Captain Cold that chills opponents’ hearts across the table is Heroclixin’s #3 Most Needed Remake.

Next are a pair that sorta proxy for their whole crew but happen to be the one most in need of remake for one reason or another.

Chameleon Boy

The Legion of Super-Heroes roster somewhat resists calls for remakes, in that there are so many Legionnaires yet to be made at all (Ferro Lad, White Witch, Blok, Quislet, Chemical King, Comet Queen, to name just a few)!

Still, there have been a number of misfires on the team described as “The Justice League of the future.” The three founders — Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl — were little more than one-trick-pony wildcards in the set they appeared in, Cosmic Justice. That unfortunate trend extended to the next DC set, Unleashed, and its key Legionnaire representative, Chameleon.

Chameleon is a Durlan, an alien race of shapeshifters like Skrulls but even better at it. Cham is one of the most powerful and deserves a dial with the following abilities:

Shape Change, and a lot of it. Preferably, he’d have a double dip of it like many Skrulls do. Better yet, he ought to have a version that’s not actually called Shape Change to make him a minor silver bullet to Battle Fury and WoS Bullseye. Another idea: When targeted by the same character since last turn, he gets a +1 to one of his quasi-Shape Change rolls.

Chameleon Boy can transform to hulking brontopoids or miniscule alien insects. It’d be nice to see his extreme shapeshifting powers reflected in an ability to pick Great Size or Tiny Size for a round.

In fact, it might be interesting to see a new Cham with a “pick-the-click-you-want” ability like Xavin (Galactic Guardians 022). In any case, he ought to have a rainbow dial or one loaded with Special Powers to represent his extreme adaptability.

As leader of the Legion Espionage Squad, Cham would have the Spy keyword in addition to the usual Future, Legion of Super-Heroes, and maybe Teen keywords. He’s the #6 most-needed remake.

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It’s not just Marvel and DC where remakes are needed. In fact, just about EVERY Indy character could stand to have a new dial, as they have not aged well at all.

But truth be told, a majority of the Indy set characters aren’t even in print any more. CrossGen, 2000 A.D., Danger Girls are all in limbo to various degrees and reasons.

But one Indy line has continued for a good long run and could use a massive upgrade:

Invincible

The Mark Grayson we got back in 2007 was quite decent for the time and point in the rookie hero’s career. He was a lite Hypersonic brick who couldn’t put up much of a real fight against his much more powerful and seasoned dad, Omni-Man.

But now, Invincible has tangled with world-beaters on the same level as his father and come out on top (though always, ALWAYS the worse for wear). So Invincible deserves a proper upgrade around 200 points, with the following key design points:

A full-speed Charge rather than top-dial Hypersonic Speed. Better to bury the latter a few clicks in, IMO.

Battle Fury. It’s in his blood.

Of course, it wouldn’t make any sense to just redo ‘Vince when there’s a whole vibrant universe of great characters to share a set with. Whether a six- or seven-piece Fast Forces or a full-blown 60-figure set, Invincible ought to have friends (and foes). He’s the #5 most needed remake in Heroclixin’s book.

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Tomorrow, two more who top the list of characters in their keyword needing another look.

Next round, goes to characters who’ve gotten some useful versions, but have evolved well past their do-one-thing-well origins. Again, one from each of the Big Two:

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Captain Atom

The Legacy versions did one thing well: Running Shot while being Impervious. Just like, y’know, several other dials in the game. But that’s not what makes Captain Atom unique. In addition to being a flying, blasting machine, he has the ability to absorb the energy of, say, a detonating nuclear bomb, then later release it in a self-detonation of his own that tends to fling him through time. (There was a sort-of version of him as a villain, Monarch (Crisis 043), but the less said of that, the better.)

So give him a Trait that reflects that, something like this:

When Captain Atom is hit with Pulse Wave, or takes 3 or greater damage from a ranged attack, roll a d6 and subtract the damage he’d take from the result and put that many Detonation tokens on his card. At the beginning of each turn, remove a Detonation token; when the last is removed, he must immediately use Pulse Wave as a free action and is removed from the battlefield. Replace each of the Detonation tokens and place him on his card and remove a token at the end of each round. When the last token is removed, place him in his starting area. If the game ends before he returns, victory points are scored by the opponent.

Short version: When he takes a big blast, he explodes with the excess energy and is transported to the future.

Needed keywords: Justice League International, Soldier, Super Buddies. Because he’s a mainstay of those named keywords in particular and has never quite gotten a dial that really nails him, he’s Heroclixin’s #8 Most Needed Remake.

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Scarlet Witch

I had a nice long treatise written on how Scarlet Witch deserves to be more than a cheapo boot speed Probability Control specialist that might be able to toss up a Barrier sometimes. I also wrote about how powerful a flying, reality-warping Switchie would be… too powerful, probably, for the game even in today’s power creep leap atmosphere. I mean, how do you balance a character who can say a sentence and permanently counter a whole keyword?

Anyway, it was a great entry, until WordPress “No more mutants’d” it and it was lost forever.

Hence, this short version.

The Scarlet Witch we need is still a Prob specialist, but with a bit more offensive focus. Her version of PC should only work on enemies’ rolls, and when she forces a miss, she can counter a power or ability the attacker used during the action, including team abilities (and regardless of team abilities).

That accurately reflects her “hex-bolts” or “chaos magic” more than basic PC. Meanwhile, solid range and offensive numbers (at least 10 AV and 3 damage at range) should suffice for her skills on the battlefield.

Because this longtime Avenger needs a definitive version, she’s Heroclixin’s #7 Most Needed Remake. Maybe the soon-to-release Chaos War version(s?) will do justice to Marvel’s biggest sometime-chaos magician?

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Tomorrow and Thursday, the countdown moves to characters that sorta proxy for their whole crew but happen to be the one most in need of remake for one reason or another.

These are characters that have at least one full dial (not counting bystanders) in the game but are somehow inadequate and need to be redone, STAT. We’re starting with a pair from both mainstream universes that have some dials that are playable, but are woefully outdated both power-wise and character/keyword/teamwise.

Moon Knight

The white-clad nocturnal crimefighter has gotten a pair of lightweight renditions (REV in Critical Mass and an Uncommon in 2007’s Avengers) that don’t properly represent his “Marvel’s Batman if he had Super Strength and was insane, sometimes” level of ability. The 2007 Avengers version made a go at it, but severely failed due to a poorly written, three-fold Special Power that can only be 2/3 used. (He can use Close and Ranged Combat Expert or self-Perplex but takes a click of damage right after. The trouble is that Perplex’s effects go away after taking damage, so he could never — EVER! — use his Perplex.)

Moon Knight’s profile has also risen a little bit in the Marvel U. since his last clix incarnation, having helmed a pair of solo series and won a place in the Secret Avengers. So since his erroneous SP was never given an errata and he needs the Avengers keyword proper, Moon Knight is Heroclixin’s #10 Most Needed Remake.

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Power Girl

“Peegee” had a decent-for-the-time trio of versions made in 2005’s Legacy set, with the Vet starting with Charge, Quake and Impervious for just 120 points. But like most every figure of the time as well, she dropped fast, sinking to sad lows by mid-dial. What good is Super Strength’s appearance with Attack Values of just 8 and 7 and no Charge or anything and utter dependence on the Justice Society team ability to prop up defenses of 15, 14 and 13?

2010’s Brave and the Bold set brought us a much beefier Power Girl at 199 points, sporting the same JSA team ability as the older REV (but with better DVs), the appearance of Hypersonic Speed, nonstop, uncounterable Super Strength and a nifty Special Power granting Exploit Weakness against non-Robot, non-Willpowered foes.

But in the end, this Power Girl is still not right.

Her Attack Values are almost exactly as bad as her Legacy incarnation. How does that happen in this stage of the game? She’s the most expensive Modern figure in the game to have a click of 7 AV on her dial — one of just nine costing 150 or more points — and one of the only three that have 2 clicks of it. The other two are human Ms. Marvel and Psycho-Man, both of Secret Invasion and costing 31 and 48 points less, respectively.

Her Super Strength trait had to be added via errata. Though I don’t doubt it’s built into her cost — how else to explain it? — one wonders if some of those points are again wasted on her inability to hit many targets literally half her weight class for literally half her dial.

Where’s the range? She’s a Kryptonian, with the heat-ray optics to match. I know she likes to tangle in close, but it’d be nice to have the option.

Add to it all her poor sculpt, which totally fails to capture the spirit of the cover art that inspired it, and you have a character who deserves much better. Let’s hope there’s a shot at the classic, pre-New-52 version of Power Girl, Heroclixin’s #9 Most Needed Remake.

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Next round, goes to characters who’ve gotten some useful versions, but have evolved well past their do-one-thing-well origins.

I’m not a huge Batman fan, whether in comics or clix. But there’s no denying he’s a great character, no matter who’s wearing the cowl…there’s a reason he endures even after celebrating his 75th anniversary just last week.

So when mad genius comics writer Grant Morrison created “Batman, Inc.” with Bruce Wayne’s public revelation that he’d been bankrolling Batman for years, and then followed it with a team-up between Bruce Wayne Batman and Catwoman in that first issue as well, this Modern Age team quickly formed itself:

FIRST TEAM FACED:Chris’s Martial Artists led by Bullseye (Web of Spider-Man) + Thunderbolts ATA, Nightcrawler (Web of Spider-Man), Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor), and Howard the Duck on my choice of the Castle map, picked more for fun than for effectiveness.

TURNING POINTS

I thoroughly forgot to use the Catwoman trait to “steal” Chris’s Yellow Lantern special object. Oops. But for his part, Chris opted to use Mystics instead of the Stealth-busting Ultimates team ability.

My map choice turned out well anyway, as my placement of the Dynamostat left Nightcrawler no way to reach BatCats — or even to place his carried Hand Ninja pal next to the duo.

Finally, as repeated Smoke Cloud Maneuvers got Batwing and Robin slowly closer to the action, Chris moved Nighty and Bullseye within range of Batman & Catwoman’s alpha strike. And though it failed, BatCats could counter Bullseye’s Running Shot to stay safely behind hindering terrain until the others could back them up.

Feeling the pressure, Chris pushed Nighty to try to hit and reposition BatCats. He failed. By then, both Batwing and Robin were in fighting position to overwhelm the Martial Artists completely, losing only Robin.

===

LAST MATCH was against Brian’s Future theme of Kid Zoom, Trevor Fitzroy, Karate Kid and Ahab on his choice of a 3rd-party map.

TURNING POINTS

AGAIN forgot to use Catwoman’s trait, robbing myself of positioning opportunities thanks to Brian’s Dynamostat placement. Lesson Learned: Give all character cards a quick readthrough before the first round of play begins.

Got first shot on Karate Kid, ending his threat before it’d begun.

Fitzory incredibly failed to hit Alfred and was a sitting duck for a huge counterattack by the others. His KO pretty much sealed the win for the Gotham crowd, as my Dynamostat kept BatCats safe from Ahab more than long enough to take him down a peg. Didn’t lose any characters this time.

MVP: Batman & Catwoman are a really strong duo…they could almost take on these teams themselves, given the right die rolls. But the presence of Robin as ever-ready tie-up and Batman as a very strong secondary help BatCats shoulder the load. Finally, there’s Alfred’s Support as the back-up plan should things go wrong (as they did in the 2nd game when Batwing crit-misses and took a hit, losing Charge).

I will play Batman, Inc. again in Modern Age, as all the characters remain legal when Avengers, Justice League, Mutations & Monsters, and Crisis all retire May 15. (I’ll have to find a different special object than the Dynamostat, though!)

Whoa, it’s been WAY too long since I did one of these. Part of the reason is that I’m running out of mods to write about. But enough with the procrastination. Time to wrap up this, my first regular feature, by early June.

AIR-WALKER (Hammer of Thor)

There’s nothing that needed fixing on this sculpt. But this dial, though? I had another use for it. However, I didn’t want to waste this piece needlessly, so I came up with a plan to have my cake and eat it too:

Cut the entire sculpt free from the dial.

Glued an old-style flight stand to the dial in the sculpt’s place.

Cut and filed the clear “flight trail” base of the sculpt into a rudimentary flight peg.

Now I had a dial I could swap sculpts with: this original and another character’s who just so happens to thoroughly fit the dial as well. We’ll see him next week.